During the last three years at Columbus East, scoring touchdowns each Friday night became a routine exercise for Markell Jones.

By the time Jones was a senior, crossing the goal line five or six times a game was common and almost expected. In fact, he scored eight touchdowns in one half against Madison last year. Celebrations became subdued because they happened so frequently.

Moments after the Purdue freshman sprinted into the end zone Sunday at Marshall after a 36-yard run, reality hit.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Jones, who became the first true freshman running back at Purdue to rush for a TD on opening day since Dan Dierking in 2009. “One thing I started to realize is you’re not going to score five, six touchdowns on a regular basis in college. Every one of them is special to me. I didn’t celebrate a lot of touchdowns in high school because I knew they were coming pretty often. It was fun to pat the guys on the head again.”

Even receiver Danny Anthrop ran over to Jones and said: “ ‘You’re representing the Indiana boys.’ ” It was cool,” Jones recalled.

Sunday won’t be Jones’ last touchdown run as a Boilermaker, but don’t expect the 5-foot-11, 207-pound future pilot to duplicate the 124 TDs he amassed with the Olympians.

His third-quarter touchdown run put the Boilermakers on top 28-24. Jones took a handoff from quarterback Austin Appleby and a big hole opened up on the right side. As he burst into the open field, Jones caught up with center Robert Kugler, even touching him on the back.

“I knew I had to kick it into gear,” Kugler said. “I was hoping he would cut off my block. I don’t think he pushed me down. I distinctly remember trying to cut that guy. I knew he was backpeddling, so I knew I could probably influence him. It was a great run by Markell.”

When Jones saw Kugler flip his hips, that’s when it was time to accelerate.

“I was right on top of Kugs at that time,” said Jones, last year’s Indiana Mr Football. “I gave him a little hand on the back and he went flying and I had to keep on running to the end zone.”

Jones, along with starting running back D.J. Knox and a veteran offensive line demonstrated why they’ll be counted on this season. Knox and Jones combined for 174 yards on 34 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Of the 40 touches, including six receptions by Knox, none went for negative yards. You can’t ask for a better start from two running backs that were seeing their first action in the backfield.

Was the offensive line perfect? No. Did they miss some blocks? Of course.

The goal in the room of running backs coach Jafar Williams is to make it back to the line of scrimmage, regardless of what happens up front.

“I always say to the backs, ‘I don’t care who’s blocked or who’s unblocked, it’s our job to get the ball back to the line of scrimmage.’ That’s something we talk about daily,” Williams said. “They all have it in their mind. There are times when you’ve got to be decisive and go get a yard and sometimes you’re going to hit it big.”

Jones was prepared for this moment because he decided to enroll in January. Without arriving in West Lafayette early, it’s unlikely Jones is on the field during the season opener. He learned the playbook starting in January and battled through mistakes during spring practice but quickly learned his responsibilities.

“One of the biggest things helping Markell was coming in early,” Williams said. “Coach (Gerad) Parker mentioned it – that’s the best decision he’s probably made. He’s so far ahead of the other guys.”

Look for more of Knox and Jones, not only Saturday against Indiana State, but throughout the rest of the season. Coach Darrell Hazell doesn’t have plans to incorporate other running backs into the rotation as long as the pair stays healthy.

Although Knox is firmly No. 1, it won’t stop Jones from trying to earn the top spot.

“It’s always a fight,” Jones said. “Being a running back is kind of an ego position. He’s still fighting to keep his No. 1 job; I’m still fighting to take over that job. I think that back-and-forth is going to make us a stronger room.”